Brutal yet elegant, Steve McQueen's latest is a beautifully rendered punch to the gut about the most shameful chapter in American history.

Film ReviewNovember 1, 2013, by Steve Davis

"...Brutal yet elegant, 12 Years a Slave is a beautifully rendered punch to the gut about the most shameful chapter in American history. Based on the 1853 memoir of Solomon Northup – an educated freeman from Saratoga, New York, who endured a nightmare of involuntary servitude after being kidnapped – this is no Tarantino revenge fantasy in which the oppressed ultimately prevails over his oppressors..."

The mental health care system for Austin and Travis County is increasingly overwhelmed, with no relief in sight.

News StoryDecember 20, 2002, by Jordan Smith

"..."Half the people that wind up in [the Austin State Hospital] are totally new to us," says Van Norman. "The first contact they have [with the mental health system] is at ASH on an involuntary commitment by the police."..."

"...To continue the laboratory metaphor: Östlund's earlier films, Play (2011) and Involuntary (2008), observe, even more explicitly, humans during life's most mundane moments and also under duress. These studies can almost seem like one-way mirrors on lab rats moving in and out of frame, reacting (usually badly) to outside stimuli...."

Righteous readers respond to recent rape reportage, and our Best of Austin issue garners a kudo or two.

ColumnsOctober 19, 2001

"...What confuses the discussion is that the analysis of both the DWI and the alleged rape includes claims by the defendant that the state of her admitted intoxication was involuntary rather than voluntary...."

"...(Their attraction to each other is so strong they recklessly dare to be found out by their male dates.) There, the instructors (led by a scarily serene Ehle, performing the role with Nurse Ratched's steely determination) attempt to indoctrinate an agnostic Cameron in a religion of pathological self-hatred, one that views her natural inclinations as a perverse sin capable of a simple cure that’s prescribed only by God’s love. As part of the brainwashing process, she and other involuntary attendees are humiliatingly asked, “Am I worth saving?” – as if the question could be answered in more than one way..."

"...Born with a crippling form of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, Lewis also struggled to hold a paintbrush in her gnarled hands, an affliction that grew worse with age. Mocked by children and shunned by the community for being an unwed mother of a baby she didn’t keep, Lewis was an involuntary loner, and her family circumstances were also difficult..."

Kristen Wiig stars in this odd comedy about a mentally unbalanced woman

Film ReviewMay 8, 2015, by Marjorie Baumgarten

"...The film stars Kristen Wiig, who switched over to making films after concluding a popular stint as a longtime regular on Saturday Night Live, where she created a stable of peculiar characters whose lack of social affect was matched by their inappropriate enthusiasm. With Alice Klieg (the “me” in Welcome to Me), Wiig has etched another unforgettable character, despite sometimes feeling as though watching Alice is akin to the involuntary compulsion to watch a train wreck in motion...."

"...After years of medication Staley was again found competent and set for execution in May 2012; again, his defense contested. In it's ruling today, the CCA agreed that the evidence "conclusively shows that medication was critical to restoring [Staley's] competency and that, but for the involuntary-medication order, [Staley] would not have been compliant in taking his medication as prescribed," reads the opinion by Judge Elsa Alcala, and joined by Judges Tom Price, Paul Womack, Cheryl Johnson, and Cathy Cochran...."

The third film in this series is the best one yet about the rogue CIA spook with the memory of a goldfish.

Film ReviewAugust 3, 2007, by Josh Rosenblatt

"...By this point, he tops the CIA’s most-wanted list by a mile, and even just the sight of an Algerian meter maid is enough to send him into paroxysms of paranoia that usually result in his tossing about roomfuls of hiply dressed secret agents like they were sacks of potatoes. To add insult to this inconvenience, Bourne is plagued by memories of hooded interrogations involving involuntary headfirst dips into water tanks and cursed by a complete lack of memory of anything else: He doesn’t know his real name; he can’t remember why he is where he is or why he does what he does..."

A couple seeks connubial advice from a celibate with an affinity for Popeye impressions.

Film ReviewJuly 6, 2007, by Josh Rosenblatt

"...Luckily the movie focuses on Krasinski, who makes the most out of a thankless role and a by-the-numbers script that revolves mainly around his getting hit in the crotch and suffering undeserved public humiliation. Outnumbered and out of his depth, Krasinski grants Ben some dignity in his feeble struggle against the forces mounting against him – his in-laws, the reverend, his sudden involuntary chastity – by using the same self-defense weapon he’s mastered as the ineffectual and lovelorn Jim on The Office: the ironic comic aside..."

Even though 1408 is one of the best Stephen King adaptations ever, this movie belongs to star John Cusack and director Mikael Håfström all the way.

Film ReviewJune 22, 2007, by Marjorie Baumgarten

"...The movie appeals to an old-fashioned sense of horror, a psychologically based creep-out that again differs from the current horror trend of randomly occurring torture porn. And I guarantee that you will never again be able to hear Karen Carpenter croon “We’ve Only Just Begun” – one of the film’s signature motifs – without letting loose an involuntary shudder of fear...."

"...When his editors objected to his use of the phrase "racial cleansing" to describe the expulsion of African-Americans from their communities, reporter Elliot Jaspin sardonically created a "euphemism generator," allowing editors to pick words from different categories to develop a palatable replacement, such as "involuntary African-American relocation."Euphemism GeneratorDirections: Just pick one word or phrase from each column!..."

Dana Carvey is a good comic, a great mimic, and maybe even a “master of disguise.” But he's no filmmaker, as The Master of Disguise so painfully proves. The film...

Film ReviewAugust 2, 2002, by Marjorie Baumgarten

"...All that back history is merely a lead-in to saying that The Master of Disguise is not even half as good as any of the movies mentioned above. Indulge me in this spoiler, which is also the movie's most audibly successful laugh-getter and a recurring gag throughout: Every time the villain (Spiner) laughs his hideously villainous laugh, he also lets fly an involuntary fart..."

An “unromantic comedy” of deep marital paranoia, Love Stinks may spell relief for men whose bowels shake at the sight of baby booties, wedding rings, and SUVs. For the rest...

Film ReviewSeptember 10, 1999, by Sarah Hepola

"...Stewart is a cartoonish actor, who is to rubberfaced grimace as Hugh Grant is to blustering stammer, and it's difficult to buy him as a romantic lead. His spastic visage is so prone to pucker and furrow that it almost looks involuntary, as if he's passing something internally..."

From Benny & Joon to Angel Baby to Forrest Gump and beyond, there has been no shortage of recent movies addressing the implications of (non-platonic) love among the mentally disabled....

Film ReviewFebruary 26, 1999, by Russell Smith

"...Lewis plays Carla, a mildly retarded rich girl who's back with her family after spending most of her teen years at a school for “special” kids. This involuntary banishment was the doing of her neurotic, over-protective mother, Elizabeth (Keaton) who ramrodded the decision past strong objections from her husband (Skerritt) and two other daughters..."

Another Halloween, another Stephen King adaptation. This time out, it's more precisely a Richard Bachman (the pseudonym under which King's book was originally published) novel that's being adapted, but the...

Film ReviewNovember 1, 1996, by Marc Savlov

"...Halleck is at first overjoyed. As his friends say, he finally seems to have found a diet “that works.” It works even better than Richard Simmons could have dreamed and, before long, Halleck is an emaciated, walking skeleton, while the town's judge and sheriff (both of whom helped him weasel out of the charge of involuntary manslaughter in the Gypsy woman's death) are simultaneously facing their own hideous curses..."

"...The massacres of churchgoers in tiny Sutherland Springs and of high school kids in suburban Santa Fe have, at least for now, changed the terms of debate. "There's definitely some movement," says Herman, a veteran judge who, as part of his duties, oversees the mental health docket (e.g., involuntary commitment) for dozens of counties in addition to Travis.
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"...“Laughter is involuntary,” said DeDomenici. “If you can make someone laugh, you break down their natural defenses and they’re much more willing to engage in any underlying message behind my work.”
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